Nice to see a local business cut through the clutter of bad names like AAAA Plumbing from the days of competitng for the top spot on the yellow pages. This is simple and memorable branding, that also works really well for digital marketing. That said, they could've used images of bacon on the B and P to make it pop... Continue reading

Well, it's that time of year again when we do annual plans. This time around I'd like to clearly lay out the mission statement for my team so our role and contribution is super clear to all stakeholders [including my team]. Toward that end, I'd like your thoughts and suggestions on my first draft. To create marketing programs, content and... Continue reading

Our goal is to make marketing so useful that people not only seek it out but stick around once they visit. Toward that end I'm proud to announce our latest effort aimed at helpfing businesses solve the deplorable problem of lead leaks. What the heck are lead leaks? Essentially they are the places in your sales and marketing process where... Continue reading

More fun with funnels. Our best infographic yet. Make sure you aren't leaking leads at each step of the buying journey customers take to discover, contact and choose your business. See more on the ReachLocal Learning Center Continue reading

I couldn't resist sharing this Vine video my daughter made featuring our dog Carmel [funny what happens when we're not home during summer break]. I know that video has nothing to do with business marketing, but 1. it's cute, and 2. it reminded me that you can convey a lot in just 6 seconds of video. So why don't more... Continue reading

As you know from reading this blog, I'm a student of the consumer buying journey. Toward that end, I highly recommend this McKinsey report that provides great insights about the next wave of innovation impacting how consumers experience brands and buy. The future they paint is very near. Continue reading

As I sit here writing performance reviews for my team it begs the question of who to reward and who I should encourage to move on. That led me to this really interesting presentation by Reed Hastings of Netflx. While his approach might too agressive for most companies I really like the fact that they take their culture of performance... Continue reading

This artist perfectly depicts how my life will end - yep, death by PowerPoint. Do you have PowerPointitis, the incurable disease that affects nearly 11 in every 10 marketers? [they told me there'd be no math in marketing ;) ] Answer these simple questions... Do you see slides in your dreams? Can you hold a meeting without using PowerPoint? Seriously... Continue reading

My team created this infographic to give an example of the consumer buying journey for a need-based service like plumbing. Even in this simple scenario you can see the complexity involved in trying to get a new customer for your business. You must continuously build your web presence with fresh content across all the places consumers go to discover and... Continue reading